TVSquad

I watched the feature film In the Loop the other day, a documentary-style comedy that looks behind the scenes of the British and U.S. governments. James Gandolfini plays Lt. Gen. George Miller, and all I could think was, "Hey, there's Tony Soprano in a U.S. military uniform." I think his character may have even said something along the lines of, "I'll break your kneecaps if..."

I know James Gandolfini has done a lot of projects since The Sopranos, but Tony Soprano is so cemented in my mind, I wonder if I'll ever see him as anything else. I have the same reaction when I see Steve Schirripa playing Leo on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. "Hey, that's Bobby Baccalieri!"

Some actors from The Sopranos have won awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, et. al. At least one has achieved another kind of infamy. Federico Castelluccio, who played the Italian hit man Furio, has sold a painting inspired by the show for $175,000. The image, a variation on the famous 15th century dual portrait, Duke and Duchess of Urbino, is called The Duke and Duchess of North Caldwell. That would be Tony and Carmela Soprano of Caldwell, New Jersey.

Federico, who has no less that eight film roles to his credit for release this year, doesn't need to paint to pay the rent. He paints because he's an artist and -- clearly -- a good one. This original work was created after his appearance on the show. As Furio Giunta, the Italian made the mistake of becoming a wee bit too enamored with his boss's wife. Rather than stay in Jersey and potentially have an affair with Carmela, Furio returned to Italy and never came back -- as far as we know. David Chase may have a whole other story that was written and never filmed involving Furio. Chase is funny that way.

Yesterday at Christie's in New York, Tony Soprano's costumes went up for auction. You not going to believe how much money a bloody wifebeater goes for these days. One fan of the show paid $43,750 for the outfit pictured to the right: a bloody tank, a stained button down shirt, and pants. The outfit was the one the Jersey mob boss wore when Uncle Junior mistakenly shot him.

Also up for bid was a four-piece set containing boxers, a robe, a sleeveless undershirt, and a pair of slippers (a costume Gandolfini donned many times on the show). It took home $21,250. Another robe (the tan one with an "S" monogram that Gandolfini wore in the pilot) went for $13.750. Overall, the iconic mafia boss's clothes brought in over $185,000.

EW.com put up the The Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and we've got the nominees in the television categories for you. Not surprisingly, The Sopranos swan song continues to get awards show nods, with bids in all three categories it qualifies for. 30 Rock accomplished the same feat in the comedy categories. No other show was represented in all three drama or comedy categories.

Newcomers include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter) in male dramatic actor. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) was a new face in female dramatic actor, while Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) represented comedic actresses. Only Mad Men was able to creep in as a new show in the ensemble drama category. The complete list is after the jump.

James Gandolfini joins the HBO family for one more bash -- poolside.

Call me cynical, but I'm not quite sure why HBO pulled out all the stops for a lavish gala at the W hotel in Westwood, Calif. when so many networks are cutting back. About 200 journalists plus assorted HBO personnel feasted on filet mignon, lobster tails and an open bar.

The hotel spa was on call in nearby cabanas to give free hand massages and (for the women) fingernail re-polishing.

"Reserve lots of money for Christmas, 2008."

That's the word from HBO Home Video head Henry McGee, speaking at the DVD and Beyond industry conference. He's talking about a Sopranos complete set. TVShowsOnDVD.com verified the info with McGee, and says it will be an expensive set. Though I wonder what they mean by expensive, since TV fans are used to paying $150-300 for complete sets.

Maybe the set will have commentary by David Chase on that series finale, or maybe deleted scenes or other info that will give more closure (for you fans who need that). Or maybe they'll be more of that black scene, which Chase wanted to last 20 seconds longer than it did (HBO talked him out of it).

(S06E19) After last week's big development with Christopher being offed by Tony Soprano, we were probably due for a letdown as far as developments go, but that was definitely not the case. Meadow decided that she felt like being part of the storyline for the first time in awhile, and we all knew that A.J.'s situation was bound to go one way or another, but how quickly might have come as a surprise.

When it comes to the drama classification, this show always makes the cut. But this week, for some reason, I felt like it meshed even more than usual with that genre with all that went on throughout the episode. When it all boils though, the family ties were what made this show so successful, and they're what keeps the drama flowing. Except for the fact that we've all got to wait two weeks to see how our Sopranos is going to get ready to close up shop, I think we're in for a quality run that everyone can get behind.

(S06E17) Looking for a completion to a season and a series? Well, looks like the folks behind The Sopranos have got something in store for all of us. Christopher has seen a lot more face time this season that I thought he would when the premiere was running, and the previews have been more than pot-stirring so far, but I'm definitely just as hooked as I've been in a while, and am psyched to see what comes next.

The nominees for the 13th annual Screen Actors Guild awards were announced earlier this morning. Like the Golden Globes, the SAG awards focus on both movies and television. We don't give a darn about the movie nominees (that's what our sister site Cinematical is for), but we very much care for the television nominations. That's because we are, you know, TV Squad. So, here they are:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

James Gandolfini, The Sopranos

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Hugh Laurie, House

James Spader, Boston Legal

Kiefer Sutherland, 24 / 24 – Jack Bauer - FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Patricia Arquette, Medium

Edie Falco, The Sopranos

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Kyra Sedgwick,The Closer

Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

From the "Look, We're Really Not Surprised" department ...

It turns out that the last eight episodes of HBO's The Sopranos will not be premiering in January as originally reported. Blame star James Gandolfini's knee surgery for mucking up the works. Since the surgery has set filming back, HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht decided to push the final episodes back to March of 2007. In its place the premium cable network will air the second season of Rome.

Television critic Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle speaks of this scheduling change in his blog. He talks about Deadwood, The Wire, and Curb Your Enthusiasm as well.

This story on WNBC's website says that James Gandolfini was hit by a cab in New York's West Village on Wednesday morning as he rode his Vespa scooter on the street.

He's OK. The scooter's in the shop.

What I find funny is the visual of Gandolfini riding a Vespa scooter. He's a big fella. With a badass alter-ego. So badass in fact, that I'd be scared to point and laugh a la Nelson on The Simpsons.

(S06E05) Wow, Allegra is getting married? Where exactly did that come from? This was the first stretch of this season for me, as it just seemed to be kind of random, and perhaps somehow engineered by Johnny in an effort to get things done - yeah, I know ,that's a stretch, too. It looks like Rusty (Frankie Valli) isn't going to make it much longer - whether Tony gets involved or not. This show also brought to light some of the better quotes of the season so far, including a huge one from Tony himself, some silliness from Vito, and a comical interaction between Johnny and Tony while sitting with Johnny's elderly relatives at the wedding.

The pressure that Meadow is now being hit with from her father with regard to getting married and having children came out this week, something I'd been expecting. Tony is very much looking forward to being able to bounce his grandkids on his knee, and doesn't seem like he thinks he might make it that far along. Carmela has gone from looking rough with her husband in the hospital to flat out glowing this week. She's not only glowing at Tony, but seems more and more confident now that he's up and at 'em.

Tony Soprano's coma is not doing much for The Sopranos ratings so far this season. Even the long-awaited season premiere earlier this month couldn't stand up to ABC's Desperate Housewives. The first episode had everybody talking when Uncle Junior shot Tony. And, then the second two episodes had everybody snoozing (Tony, too) as the other mobsters tried to run the show without Tony. Thank goodness he's awake, eh?